According to a senior Honda official, the Japanese carmaker will use hybrid vehicles as interim vehicles for the next two years in India, before moving to electric vehicles (EVs) as supporting infrastructure such as chargers station will take time.
By introducing new technologies into the automotive industry, Honda, a 100% subsidiary in India, will support the government's efforts to create green cars.
In a hybrid vehicle, the combustion engine is supplemented by an electric motor for driving.
“ Pending the development of a suitable charging infrastructure in India, we believe that hybrid vehicles can be considered a good intermediate technology for government initiatives. Accordingly, we will begin our electrification journey in two years with hybrid technology , ”said Rajesh Goel, Senior Vice President and Director of India Ltd (HCIL).
The company sells only one hybrid model on the domestic market - the Accord Hybrid. Auto companies in India are currently reluctant to roll out hybrid models as such vehicles have been placed in the same category as large luxury gasoline and diesel vehicles under the GST tax regime.
According to Vision 2030, Honda aims to electrify two-thirds of its global vehicle sales by 2030 with its range of hybrid electric vehicles (HEV), battery electric vehicles (BEV), plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEV) and fuel cell vehicles (FCV).
